Blur have taken given their hotly anticipated new album the online streaming treatment one week ahead of its official release.

To say that ‘The Magic Whip’ is twelve years in the making is slightly short of the mark considering the vast array of musical happenings the individual members of Blur have been involved in during that time, however, this does not take away from the levels of hype and anticipation surrounding the release.

Blur fans have been waiting a long, long time for this day to come around and now it is here we anticipate everything to be Blur sounding for at least 48 hours; the parks, the streets, the living rooms and definitely the airwaves (at least down South anyway).

Aside from the fact that a decade has passed since Blur’s last full release, there are so many reasons why ‘The Magic Whip’ represents a significant milestone in the hugely successful career of the band. Most significantly, it shows that they are still capable of working together and moreover, call one another ‘friends’. This really shines throughout the release as music like Blur’s simply doesn’t get made without a strong level of camaraderie among the ranks.